Second Test. England v Sri Lanka at Riverside. 27/5/16.

[alfie]

Ah that's a pity - Hales misses out on the century that beckoned , again.

Hits a lovely straight six and then slices to slip...where another fine catch is held by Matthews to end him at 83. A very good innings : but he'll feel he's missed out.

Sri Lankan catching has been excellent today ; and they're staying in the game - just about - at 160/3.

[sussexpob]

The ECB have quite enough money. That's the trouble nowadays. It's all about money rather than taking test cricket around the country. Glamorgan has little interest in test cricket but the ECB are keen to give them plenty of tests.

It has been taken round the country, this test is in Durham... and no one is there.

[Aidan11]

The ECB have quite enough money. That's the trouble nowadays. It's all about money rather than taking test cricket around the country. Glamorgan has little interest in test cricket but the ECB are keen to give them plenty of tests.

It has been taken round the country, this test is in Durham... and no one is there.

Out of 6 tests awarded to Durham, 5 have been at the start of the summer against poorer opposition and this test is £55 a ticket. And you wonder why no-one is there? Even I've given it the swerve this time. I'd have paid that for Pakistan in July.

[hopeforthebest]

England is a small country cricket hardly needs to move from the centre and most everyone can access it. This cry from the far flung corners is similar to the cries from country people who enjoy being in the country but moan that Broadband is slow and petrol is more expensive. I do believe these early year tests should be abandoned as no ground can make money when it's wet and cold. Early games should be ODI/T20 not tests.

[Aidan11]

It is also worth mentioning that England are playing football up at Sunderland tonight. I can't imagine many attending both today. The footy is a sell-out.

[hopeforthebest]

Joe Root is set on rectifying his record of only totaling 23 runs in all formats at Durham.

[Alviro Patterson]

Headingley for Day 2 and Day 3 had limited tickets remaining. Not sure what the overall attendance was but if Day 1 had 9500, then overall ticket sales must have been in the 85-90% region. Good going considering Yorkshire have hosted Sri Lanka and New Zealand twice since 2013.

Maybe if Yorkshire got better opposition (i.e. India or South Africa) or Durham hosts a test match in high summer, then crowds would be responsive.

Not sure thats a great economic plan for the ECB. Gift matches that are big money generators to smaller grounds that dont prove their worth.

The ECB have quite enough money. That's the trouble nowadays. It's all about money rather than taking test cricket around the country. Glamorgan has little interest in test cricket but the ECB are keen to give them plenty of tests.

Depends on the definition of proving worth, Yorkshire and Durham have supplied England with many a player in the 21st Century.

Sophia Gardens has hosted more profilic international matches than Riverside and Headingley, yet it's not in England!!!

Trent Bridge is another ground which is not bigger than Headingley and Riverside. Not that I have anything against Trent Bridge (an excellent ground to watch cricket), but it's unfair they have three high profile test matches in the form of India, South Africa and Australia whilst Headingley/Riverside are feeding off scraps.

[KipperJohn]

If Lords didn't insist on hosting two test matches a year, then one of the test matches would be somewhere

Indeed. At a half empty Headingley, or half empty Chester-le-Street.....

To put it short, any test venue used that cant maintain at least 75% ticket sales for the first three days should be removed and replaced with a London test.

Id rather see a full Lords being used 5 times a year, then 3,000 people widely dispersed in empty northern grounds.

Perhaps I'm biased but the obvious alternative is the Ageas Bowl. Lovely ground and atmosphere and highly regarded by many in the game. Has successfully hosted both Tests and ODIs.

[Alviro Patterson]

It is also worth mentioning that England are playing football up at Sunderland tonight. I can't imagine many attending both today. The footy is a sell-out.

and St James Park hosted Rugby League Magic Weekend last weekend, reality is people up North don't have the disposable income they once had and watching sports events has become more expensive. I actually wonder if the shutting down of Redcar Steelworks has had an impact on selling tickets.

[KipperJohn]

Herath's 300th Test wicket seemingly as hard to come by as Cook's 10,000 runs.

[hopeforthebest]

Headingley for Day 2 and Day 3 had limited tickets remaining. Not sure what the overall attendance was but if Day 1 had 9500, then overall ticket sales must have been in the 85-90% region. Good going considering Yorkshire have hosted Sri Lanka and New Zealand twice since 2013.

Maybe if Yorkshire got better opposition (i.e. India or South Africa) or Durham hosts a test match in high summer, then crowds would be responsive.

Not sure thats a great economic plan for the ECB. Gift matches that are big money generators to smaller grounds that dont prove their worth.

The ECB have quite enough money. That's the trouble nowadays. It's all about money rather than taking test cricket around the country. Glamorgan has little interest in test cricket but the ECB are keen to give them plenty of tests.

Depends on the definition of proving worth, Yorkshire and Durham have supplied England with many a player in the 21st Century.

Sophia Gardens has hosted more profilic international matches than Riverside and Headingley, yet it's not in England!!!

Trent Bridge is another ground which is not bigger than Headingley and Riverside. Not that I have anything against Trent Bridge (an excellent ground to watch cricket), but it's unfair they have three high profile test matches in the form of India, South Africa and Australia whilst Headingley/Riverside are feeding off scraps.[/quote

Wasn't Headingly regarded as below par regarding facilities for the spectators and then unusable for a time whilst building work was in progress?

[Alviro Patterson]

Wasn't Headingly regarded as below par regarding facilities for the spectators and then unusable for a time whilst building work was in progress?

Much of the stadium redevelopment for spectators occured in early 2000. More recently it was below par for housing media, but the new pavilion built in 2010 has made Headingley on par with most test grounds. Drainage and ground levelling occured around the same time, along with a new electronic scoreboard. Last year a 2nd electronic scoreboard, floodlights and a players pavilion was installed.

Next major stadium development is rebuilding the Football Stand End and extending the North-East Corner, which should be done for 2019 and the capacity increased to 20,000. There is talk of adding a roof on the Western Terrace, but I feel that is wasted money when it is only used for Tests and T20s. Maybe add a roof on the North-East Corner, East and reconfigure the North Stand to a two tier setup, something like Edgbaston.

[yuppie]

Ball seems to be turning according to cricinfo.

England are looking good for 350+

[sussexpob]

In know AP is physically unable to be objective when Yorkshire is in discussion, but the cold hard fact is in 2014 Headingley reduced it prices on a Sunday to £20 in a game that went down to the very last over, and with a series still to play for, and 6,000 people turned up. This was, I believe, more about double the people who turned up on the last day.

Just to put that into context, its about 4,000 less than Bristol Rovers average gate was this year, despite then playing in a city with a population half the size, and competing regularly with a side ranked two divisions above them in the football league structure.... and their ticket prices being £7 higher.

This is simply madness talk. Rugby is on in Newcastle last week so no one turns up to the cricket? Sunderland ground is full tonight, so no one will turn up to CLS?

So maybe someone can explain why Middlesbrough can still get 33,500 to a game when Sunderland is also sold out on the same weekend? And if people cant afford £55 for a ticket in the North East, then can someone tell me why Newcastle, Middlesbrough and Sunderland get about 130,000 people regularly turn up for a home game on the same weekend.

Sorry, just excuse. Headingley has proved to be a rubbish venue. Hence it gets rubbish games.

Its lucky it gets that. It doesnt even deserve to host Zimbabwe in a warm up game getting 3,000 turn up on a series deciding day

[Aidan11]

In know AP is physically unable to be objective when Yorkshire is in discussion, but the cold hard fact is in 2014 Headingley reduced it prices on a Sunday to £20 in a game that went down to the very last over, and with a series still to play for, and 6,000 people turned up. This was, I believe, more about double the people who turned up on the last day.

Just to put that into context, its about 4,000 less than Bristol Rovers average gate was this year, despite then playing in a city with a population half the size, and competing regularly with a side ranked two divisions above them in the football league structure.... and their ticket prices being £7 higher.

This is simply madness talk. Rugby is on in Newcastle last week so no one turns up to the cricket? Sunderland ground is full tonight, so no one will turn up to CLS?

So maybe someone can explain why Middlesbrough can still get 33,500 to a game when Sunderland is also sold out on the same weekend? And if people cant afford £55 for a ticket in the North East, then can someone tell me why Newcastle, Middlesbrough and Sunderland get about 130,000 people regularly turn up for a home game on the same weekend.

Sorry, just excuse. Headingley has proved to be a rubbish venue. Hence it gets rubbish games.

Its lucky it gets that. It doesnt even deserve to host Zimbabwe in a warm up game getting 3,000 turn up on a series deciding day

Football is a lot more popular than cricket which is why Wayne Rooney earns more in a week than Alastair Cook earns in a year. You can't compare the two. People are more likely to shell out for football than cricket as it our national sport.

Also when was the last time you were at Headingley, Sussex?